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Copyright Act 1994

Border protection measures - Enforcement powers of Customs officers

144B: Chief executive may require person to appear and answer questions concerning goods in control of Customs

You could also call this:

"Chief executive can ask you to answer questions about goods that might break the law"

Illustration for Copyright Act 1994

If you import goods that a Customs officer thinks break the law, the chief executive can ask you to answer questions. You will get a written notice telling you to appear before a Customs officer. The notice must say when and where you need to appear. The notice must be in a special form and tell you which Customs officer you need to see. You can get the notice in person, by post, by fax, or by email. If you get the notice by email, it is considered served on the second working day after it is sent. You can also get the notice through a special electronic system if you use one. The notice is about goods that might be seized under section 144 or released. You might have imported the goods or acted as an agent for someone who did.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM4127264.

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144A: Chief executive may require person to produce documents concerning goods in control of Customs, or

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Part 7Border protection measures
Enforcement powers of Customs officers

144BChief executive may require person to appear and answer questions concerning goods in control of Customs

  1. If a Customs officer believes on reasonable grounds that goods in the control of the Customs have been imported in breach of this Act, the chief executive may, by notice in writing, require any person whom the Customs officer believes to have imported the goods, or any person whom the Customs officer believes to have acted as agent of that person, to appear before a Customs officer and to answer questions that the Customs officer considers relevant to determining whether the goods should be seized under section 144 or released.

  2. A notice under this section requiring a person to appear before a Customs officer and to answer questions must—

  3. be in the prescribed form; and
    1. specify the Customs officer before whom the person must appear; and
      1. specify a reasonable time and place at which the person must appear; and
        1. be served on the person by—
          1. delivering it to him or her in person; or
            1. posting it to the person's address or delivering it to a box at a document exchange that the person is using at the time; or
              1. sending it by fax machine to a telephone number used by the person for the transmission of documents by fax; or
                1. if the person is a registered user of a registered user system (within the meaning of section 322 of the Customs and Excise Act 2018), transmitting it by electronic means to the person in accordance with the normal procedure of operation of the registered user system in relation to that person.
                  1. emailing it to the person at an email address that is used by the person.

                  2. In the absence of proof to the contrary, a notice that is emailed to a person must be treated as served on the person on the second working day after the date on which it is emailed, and, in proving that the notice was emailed, it is sufficient to prove that the notice was properly addressed and sent to the email address.

                  Notes
                  • Section 144B: inserted, on , by section 10 of the Copyright Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 72).
                  • Section 144B(2)(d)(iv): replaced, on , by section 443(3) of the Customs and Excise Act 2018 (2018 No 4).
                  • Section 144B(2)(d)(v): inserted, on , by section 56(2) of the Electronic Interactions Reform Act 2017 (2017 No 50).
                  • Section 144B(3): inserted, on , by section 56(3) of the Electronic Interactions Reform Act 2017 (2017 No 50).